ISRO seeking permission for developing its own space station

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief A S Kiran Kumar believes that India has capability, technology and infrastructure to develop its own space station but it needs approval from the government to work on the long-term plan.

While addressing the crowd at the foundation day ceremony of Raja Ramanna Center for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore, Kumar further added that the Indian Space Research Organisation is waiting for the government to make a decision and they soon will start the work once they get the policy and necessary funds to start the project.

He accused people of expecting immediate benefits of manned space mission and said this is why India is lagging behind when it comes to setting up a space station and hasn’t made up its mind to invest in a space station.

“We still talk about what would be the immediate benefits of a manned space mission. That is why the country hasn’t made up its mind about when to invest in a space station,” said Kumar.

He explained that several technological developments were made for space programs that are being used by the common man at present. Megapixel camera, MRI, image processing and there are over 100 such more things that were developed for space missions and are now benefitting the life of every people on Earth. Every country citizen should understand the need of investing in research and development as it will repay by improving the future, said ISRO chief.

ISRO has gained the reputation of launching satellites with precision at low price, and now foreign space agencies are contacting Indian space agency for their satellite launches. Kumar said that the scientists are working on enhancing the communication network of satellites for which they need to launch more satellites and need to do more research to reduce the cost of equipment.

Several small space startups are emerging these days and want to launch their small satellites at cheap cost. ISRO can provide them with a solution, and Kumar believes that this area has immense commercial potential and he wants Indian space agency to launch the majority of the satellites worldwide.

Moreover, ISRO chief added that the record-breaking feat of launching 104 satellites in one go was not meant for creating record, but it showed the power and capability of ISRO for launching the vast number of satellites precisely at low cost and it will attract more foreign clients.